Brood-recognition
Guides
Temnothorax ambiguus
Doubtful Acorn Ant
Temnothorax ambiguus is an ant species in the subfamily Myrmicinae, commonly known as the Doubtful Acorn Ant. It serves as a host species for the obligatory slave-making ant Protomognathus americanus and exhibits facultative slave-making behavior itself. Laboratory studies demonstrate sophisticated larval recognition capabilities, with workers preferentially accepting nestmate larvae and discriminating between conspecific and allospecific brood. The species has been observed in contexts involving cavity-nesting habits typical of the genus, including nesting in hollow nuts and acorns.